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How did Biosphere 2’s lungs prevent excess air pressure from damaging the glass enclosure?
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Biosphere 2
Biosphere 2, located in Oracle, Arizona, U.S., shown in 2008. The facility was originally developed to study survivability and assess whether humans were capable of building and living in self-sustaining colonies in outer space. It was later used as a scientific research facility.
The "lungs" of Biosphere 2 were designed to prevent the glass enclosure from being damaged by fluctuating air pressure caused by changing external temperatures.
Each lung consisted of a large geodesic dome containing a heavy metal plate attached to a rubber membrane. These chambers were connected to the main facility by a tunnel. As the air inside the biosphere expanded or contracted due to temperature shifts, the lungs acted as variable-expansion chambers. By allowing the internal air volume to adjust, the system dissipated pressure that otherwise could have exceeded the structural strength of the glass.1